Rich, Aaron and I joined some other evangelists from around the country the first of May and we witnessed at the Kentucky Derby. Many people went into Churchill Downs drunk and many, many more left the place totally drunk. But when we tried to get them to see their sinfulness and God’s Holiness we would ask them if they had been drinking and instead of admitting it, a lot of them said, no I’m Catholic.
They said no I’m Catholic like somehow that was a magical statement that meant they weren’t drunk. So if you are out here tonight and you get drunk or high and after you leave here you get pulled over by a police officer, just look at the officer and say I’m not drunk, I’m Catholic and see if that gets you out of a ticket. Do you think that will work?
Or maybe you can say no, I’m Mormon or a Jehovah’s Witness or Muslim, or Buddhist or Hindu or Baptist or Methodist or Lutheran or Presbyterian or Pentecostal or Non-Denominational or whatever religion or denomination you want to insert there and see if that gets you out of a ticket. Obviously, using any of these statements will not get you out of a ticket.
I dare say most of us can agree with this. If you get pulled over tonight and you are drunk or high, telling the officer that you have some sort of religious affiliation will not keep you from getting a ticket. If you drive drunk or high, you are wrong, you are being foolish and frankly you deserve a ticket. If we do the crime, we should do the time. Most of us realize that claiming you are (fill in the blank) will not stop you from getting a ticket.
So why is it that most of us can logically understand this when it comes to driving under the influence and interacting with a police officer, but many people don’t understand that they foolishly are trying to do this same thing when it comes to our great Creator God? You can see that claiming a religious affiliation won’t save you from suffering the consequences of your actions by breaking the law of the land, but you really think that it will save you from God’s wrath on Judgment Day? Can’t you see how foolish this is?
If saying I’m Catholic won’t get you out of a drunk driving ticket, what makes you think it will keep you from suffering God’s anger over your sins for all of eternity? Do you really think when you stand before our Holy, righteous and just God and He reminds you of every sin that you have ever thought, spoken or physically committed and you have to defend yourself and all you can muster to say is I’m Catholic, that He’s going to say, well great.
Since you’re Catholic, forget all the bad and evil things that you’ve done in your life and come on in, welcome to the kingdom! Of course not! Saying I’m Catholic will not save you on Judgment Day. Saying I’m Mormon, will not save you on Judgment Day. Nor I’m a Jehovah’s Witness or I’m Jewish or I’m a Baptist or a Pentecostal or I’m a member of the Church of Christ will save you on that terrible day of the Lord.
No religious affiliation will save you at the judgment. So if you can see that your religious alliance will not save you from a drunk driving ticket, don’t continue thinking that your religion will grant you a pardon from Almighty God. There is only one way to appease God’s wrath over your sin and that way is Jesus Christ. Our Lord said that He is the way, the truth and the life and that no one can come to God the Father except through Him. You did the crime, but Jesus paid your fine, if you own up to your crime. If you admit that you are a sinner. If you confess and forsake your sins. If you repent and trust Jesus.
Your sins and my sins are a stench in God’s nostrils. The only way to wipe that stench away is through Jesus alone. There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Only Jesus can make you clean again. Only Jesus can make you whole. If Jesus is not your Lord and Savior, then you are damaged goods tonight. Only Jesus can put you back in a right relationship with God.
Do not continue driving from ditch to ditch, swerving all over the road of life. Stop the car. Stop driving drunk with the intoxication of religion or the intellectual high of non-religion. Hand the keys over to the One who can keep you safe. Surrender your life to the One who can redeem you and cleanse you. Your guilty conscience can be cleansed tonight. You can be forgiven for your sins; if you repent and put your faith in Jesus.
Oh, trust Jesus tonight and be saved. He suffered and died for the sins of the world. But you must admit that you are guilty. You can’t blame your momma or your daddy. You can’t blame your boyfriend or girlfriend or husband or wife. You must take responsibility for your own actions. Cry out to God to save you tonight.
Turn away from your sins and turn to Jesus. Do not be deceived. There is judgment to come. John 12:44-48: Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. 45 And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. 46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. 47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
Psalm 1:5-6 states: Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish. Do not perish in your sins.
There is judgment to come and because of this, God commands us to repent. Acts 17:30-31 says And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: 31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
Please notice these verses say that God commands all men everywhere to repent. It didn’t say except for Catholics, or Muslims or Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses or Baptists or Methodists or any other religious group. It says God commands all men to repent. That means all of us. That means you! Do not die in your sins and stand before God on Judgment Day with some weak excuse for rejecting His only begotten Son. Do what God is commanding you to do and do right now – REPENT! We are to have repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21).
Oh, please don’t continue barreling down the highway of life, driving like a drunkard, wildly swinging from one side of the road to the other. Don’t continue bouncing back and forth from one ditch to the other. Stop the car full of the sinful pleasures of this world and the pleasures of the flesh. Repent and trust Jesus. Stop trusting in your religion (and yes for those of you who are non-religious, your non-religion is your religion and it won’t save you either).
Pleading ignorance before our Holy God on Judgment Day is no excuse. It won’t save you from God’s wrath. Thinking that you are a good person won’t save you either. None of us are good; none of us are righteous. We have all gone astray. You must repent and believe the Gospel. Do this today and be saved. Instead of identifying so strongly with your religion or denomination, put your trust in Jesus.
Surrender completely to Him. Do not harden your heart tonight. God will not always plead with you through the Holy Spirit to get right with Him. If God is convicting you over your sinfulness and His Holiness, then come to Jesus. Submit to His Lordship. Bow your knee and confess with your tongue that Jesus Christ is Lord. Be saved tonight. Then identify yourself as a follower of Jesus and when you are truly saved, He will be with you every step that you take and empower you to endure to the end.
(This message was proclaimed on the square in Springfield, MO on May 15, 2015)